


The Future is Bright

by Violet_Xmas



Series: Sterek Fics [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Stilinski/Hale family, older pack, witch curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-11 00:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7867879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet_Xmas/pseuds/Violet_Xmas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek gets a glimpse</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Future is Bright

"For the love of God, Stiles, you are not coming with us!"  
"Why the hell not?! You know I can do this - I've been training with you guys!"  
"You may be slightly stronger, but there's no way you'll be able to face this thing - it's strong, fast, we don't know it's weaknesses and both Scott and Kira are out of action. You'll just slow us down," Derek growled,   
"But-," Stiles was cut off by Derek grabbing his collar and shoving him against a wall, teeth bared,  
"Stiles! It's. Not. Happening." Derek stormed out of the room before Stiles could protest. That damn kid was giving him a migraine. Did he not understand that Derek was trying to protect him! His goddamn acts of chivalry were going to get him killed and that's the last thing Derek wanted. 

Deaton had said that it sounded like some sort of witch, with all these sacrificial-like animal killings, and Derek was not prepared to let Stiles face this sorceress without any kind of power against her. She'd enter his mind much too quickly and that wouldn't help them in the slightest.

*

Stiles huffed about it for the next couple of days whilst the rest of the pack searched for her hideout, but did as he was told for once and didn't attempt to come with them on their night of planned attack. Derek found this slightly odd, but ignored it in order to focus on their plan. 

They'd found her hiding in the old abandoned bank (a site of great nightmare for the pack) which only had the perk of them knowing their way around it. However, the witch had set up a ring of mountain ash, so thank god Derek had accepted Allison's help for this mission. Since the intruder had not killed any humans, Derek was willing to let her off with a warning, still a little pissed off at the fact that she didn't make herself known as soon as she'd entered his territory.

They found her in the middle of what looked like a sacrifice with a rabbit laying, terrified, tied to a large table which could have only been dragged in by magic. Derek could smell the poor animal's fear.

"That's enough," he growled. The witch stopped her chanting and looked back at them with a smile.  
"Oh, but Alpha Hale, I was just going to sacrifice this rabbit to the Moon Goddess in order to appease your apparent anger," she murmured, her voice carrying surprisingly well in the spacious room. It was as light as a feather, clearly not seeing the pack as a threat, even with most of the betas having their claws out and Allison pointing her bow at the witch's head, an arrow docked. 

"What are you doing here?" Derek questioned.  
"I just told y-,"  
"No," Derek snapped," what is your purpose of being on my territory without asking permission or even stating your presence before going off and killing animals on my land. That is not part of the agreement we werewolves hold with you witches."   
The witch laughed, a tinkly sound, as if she were a fairy.   
"Alpha Hale, you mistake my actions as the beginnings of an attack. I only wished to gather some resources for my spells. I do not wish to attack anyone."  
"That's not my point."

The witch frowned. She didn't like Derek's unchanging attitude.  
"I'll be gone in a few days," she said.  
"I'd prefer it if you left immediately," Derek retorted, taking a step towards her." We all would."  
"I haven't harmed-,"  
"A person, yes, but I'd appreciate a little warning before you start killing pets without even cleaning up after yourself! How is the Sheri-I mean, how am I supposed to explain that to people? It's difficult to say to humans that a witch is just collecting some supplies. They want answers!"

The witch was angry now. Lydia sighed. Typical. Always had to make things a little more difficult. She wasn't even surprised when Stiles stumbled in. Unfortunately for Derek, it only took that slight distraction, a flash of anger towards Stiles to take his focus off of the witch. She took her opportunity to mutter a few words and rush forward, pressing her hands against Derek's temples. Immediately he went limp and fell to the floor.

The pack gasped and Stiles was already by Derek's side, yelling at him to wake up and not to leave them. The betas were growling and surrounding the witch but everyone was a little unsure of themselves as Derek wasn't present. She noticed.

"Oh, don't get your panties in s twist, he's perfectly fine."  
"Is he alive?!" Stiles demanded,  
"Of course he's alive," she snorted," just...in a coma."  
"A coma?!" Scott grabbed ahold of Stiles.   
"He'll wake up when I leave, okay? Just a couple more days. And you never know, he might enjoy it." 

She smirked knowingly and the pack glanced at each other, all very confused. They didn't have time to grab her before she disappeared with a promise to clean up after herself.

********************************

He was laying on something. Something soft. And warm. Or was that the thing wrapped up in his arms? Derek frowned slightly and tried opening his eyes but he found that he couldn't. He began freaking out for a second and tried to move but his limbs wouldn't even twitch. He couldn't even feel his hands or feet.

He wanted to jump when what he was holding shifted in his grip, but he only felt himself yawn and slowly his eyes opened. He was holding a guy. His arms were wrapped around his waist. The guy had dark hair, but the sort that gets lighter in the sun, moles dotted all over his skin and whiskey-coloured eyes which were staring happily at Derek. The alpha felt himself blink heavily and a smile he couldn't stop spread across his face.  
"Stiles?" he spluttered but no sound came out of his mouth.  
"Morning, love," the boy murmured sleepily, his lips curving into a lazy smile. Well, boy wasn't the right word really. This Stiles had what looked like stubble on his cheeks and faint laughter lines around his eyes. 

Derek was beyond confused. What was happening? Was he in someone else's head? He must be! There's no way he'd be in Stiles' bed right now. No way in hell. The head he was in shifted slightly and he saw a digital clock showing the time to be 9:03am and the date to be...what the fuck. The date read: 07/08/2036. That was twenty years from what the date was supposed to be. What was going on?!

He felt his mouth open and say,  
"It's only nine...do you wanna...?" whilst sliding a hand down to play his the tops of Stiles' pyjama bottoms. Stiles' laughter cut off Derek's thoughts of utter confusion and shock, catching him off guard. It was a rare thing for his Stiles to laugh nowadays.  
"And have Alec walk in on us like he did last time?" Stiles giggled and Derek couldn't help but admire the adorable sound," Come on! The kids won't get up themselves!"  
"Fine, but I'm getting you later," he heard the voice, that was undeniably his, grumble. That didn't stop the body he was in from watching Stiles clamber out of bed in just a pair of pyjama bottoms and through a door which was assumedly a bathroom.

Derek blinked as the body unexpectedly sat up in the large king-size bed and looked around, catching his appearance in a mirror and groaning. Yep, definitely himself. Older, maybe, but definitely him. What was this? Was this...no...it couldn't possibly his future, could it? What sick joke was this witch pulling on him? How did she access his deepest desires? Derek had thought he'd buried them deep enough. This wasn't a realistic hope for Derek and it was unfair for the witch to be torturing him like this.

He was still sat  there, staring, when this strange, older Stiles came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist.   
"Der? Everything okay?" He felt himself smirk,  
"Just waiting to enjoy the view of my gorgeous husband." Stiles laughed and turned towards a chest of drawers, dropping the towel. Derek was shocked but had to keep staring just as his older self did.  
"What?" Stiles chuckled, pulling on a pair of boxers. Derek couldn't help but smile at the fact they were Superman ones." It's not like you haven't seen it before. Now go and wake the kids - we can't be late for Lydia's barbecue!" 

*

Older Derek took the opportunity to get up and grab Stiles as he passed him to the door, pressing a kiss to his neck and making him giggle. Derek was slowly accepting that he'd have to watch this play out in front of him. Surely it'd only last for a day or maybe two. He could survive this and be completely normal when he woke up in his own time. 

For about two seconds he caught a look at himself in a mirror as older Derek passed it in the hallway at the top of the stairs. His face was much more lined, the bags under his eyes bigger, but they didn't seem like frown lines or bags caused by worry. His hair was still dark, his stubble still there, but he spotted some sliver hairs in his sideburns, much to his horror. 

Older Derek approached the next door in the corridor which had a sign hanging from a nail on the door saying 'Alec'. Pushing it open, he poked his head round the door and Derek noted the clothes littering the floor, the empty soda cans and an empty pizza box. He sighed. Definitely a teenager. There was a lanky boy sprawled out on the bed, about fifteen or sixteen, reminding Derek instantly of the way Stiles always sleeps whenever he's at home. Not that Derek knew this from personal experience...

Older Derek stepped further into the room and cleared his throat, walking over to the window and throwing open the curtains, saying,  
"Alec! Up and at 'em, big guy, let's go!"   
There was a groan from the bed and a mumble of,  
"But, whyyyyyyyy?!"  
"Lydia's barbecue, buddy, come on." It was enough to get the boy leaping out of bed and Derek felt his older self laughing.  
"Alright, alright, I'm up, don't let her kill me." There was no real fear behind his tone and Derek couldn't help but sniff, realising that the boy was in fact a werewolf. In fact, he hadn't been able to smell any sign of humans being in the house whatsoever.

Older Derek moved on to the next room, the door covered in posters and a name painted across it: 'Carter'. This boy, about ten, was in the same position as Alec had been, but was laying on his back, snoring loudly. Derek stared in wonder at his dark hair and moles dotted all over his skin. When his older self took the same approach as he had with Alec, the boy just rolled over and muttered,  
"Aunt Lydia loves me, I'm her favourite nephew, she won't hurt me," before falling asleep again. Older Derek groaned and yanked the kid out of bed and onto the floor, careful not to bump his head.   
"Up, Carter, come on."

Older Derek needn't have bothered with the next room. Caspian, as it said on the door with the 'pian' part crossed out, was already awake and gaming on some sort of tablet that Derek had never seen before. He barely noticed, though, due to the fact that Caspian looked like an identical copy of Carter. Typical, he caught himself thinking, of course we'd end up with twins. He ignored the thought as soon as it entered his mind. 

"Cas? Come on, get dressed," his older self said,  
"Are we going to Aunt Lydia's soon?" Older Derek nodded,  
"But not if you don't get your ass dressed." Cas jumped up and ran to his wardrobe and older Derek chuckled, leaving him to it. Derek was still reeling from the fact these kids were calling his older self "dad". It was both heartwarming and utterly terrifying at the same time.

Derek wasn't sure what to expect by the last room, the one at the very end of the corridor. The name 'Darcy' was spelt out of pink letters stuck to the door and Derek couldn't help but grin. A girl. Finally. Cracking open the door, older Derek paused and peered inside to see a gorgeous little girl, six-years-old at the most, lying peacefully in her bed, surrounded by turquoise blankets and teddy bears. His older self spent a minute just staring, smiling at his daughter before entering into the room properly.  
"Darcy, sweetheart," he said, moving to pick her up out of bed and kiss her on the forehead,  
"Wakey wakey, beautiful, let's get you ready for Aunt Lydia's barbecue."

Derek will never admit that he felt like crying when she blinked up at his older self sleepily, yawning deeply. She had one eye the colour of whiskey and the other one was the sort of blue that he'd never seen before except from in his mother's eyes.   
"Okay, papa."

*******************************

Older Stiles was already downstairs by the time older Derek came back to their room to have a shower himself. When finished, he pulled on a white shirt and jeans before making his way downstairs with the ease that comes with knowing your way around a house that you've lived in for a while. Derek was surprised to smell that Stiles' cooking was unburnt. 

He was careful to take in absolutely every single detail about the house which he apparently owned. The photo frames lining the staircase walls, the chip in the third step up, a dent in the wall next to the doorframe leading to the kitchen. Four children sat at the kitchen table. His children. He watched as Alec picked at his bacon, distracted by his phone; as the twins fought for who got the last pancake; as Darcy tried to offer her pancake to Carter, only to be completely ignored and left to play with her...were those toy cars? Derek smiled. His girl was so gonna be a tomboy. 

And then finally, at Stiles, not his Stiles (yet), humming to an unfamiliar tune playing on the radio while mixing what smelled like more pancake batter. A Stiles who smiled at Derek's older self when he turned round and saw the alpha. A Stiles who was a werewolf and didn't seem to be affected by the change in the slightest. Derek couldn't quite get over that fact.

Derek's body moved closer to Stiles, observing as his future self took the bowl from older Stiles' hands and sat it on top of the kitchen counter. Older Derek's arms wrapped around this Stiles' waist and, without even thinking, kissed him. Stiles made a surprised noise, but kissed back immediately for as long as they could before their boys started complaining about it. Stiles was grinning when he pulled away.   
"What was that for?" Older Derek shrugged and winked at him, staring into those whiskey-coloured eyes for a moment longer before turning to look at the kids. 

He took in Alec's height, his muscular build, even though he was only sixteen. He had Derek's dark hair and Stiles' eyes, cheeky but also with an air of authority that could be seen by how his younger siblings flinched slightly when he growled. The twins looked exactly the same, with the same dark hair as Alec, but with Derek's eyes and Stiles' moles dotted all over their skin as well as sharing the lankiness Stiles had in his youth. And then Darcy. Her gorgeous eyes and long hair the same shade as Stiles'. He couldn't stop the tears filling his eyes.

*********************************

Soon after breakfast Stiles was yelling for them all to get their asses in the car and Derek immediately obeyed, which surprised him even more than the fact that this Stiles was a werewolf. He'd just automatically listened to a command from...Stiles? That should be impossible-  
"Derek? Come on! Let's get going, I don't think Lydia will be too please with us if we're late!"   
"Coming!" Older Derek called, tripping over in his hurry to rush down the stairs, which he'd gone up in order to find a pair of black Vans. Everyone knew that Lydia wasn't one who liked to be kept waiting. 

Derek was pleased to see that his Camaro was standing in the rather long driveway, but frowned when he couldn't see Stiles' beloved Jeep. Thankfully, Stiles had got tired of waiting for him and was sitting in the driver's seat, bouncing up and down in his typical skittish state. Derek couldn't help but laugh at the awful seven seater that they'd no doubt had to buy when Darcy was born, even more so when he noticed that the twins were doing the same thing as Stiles.

"Finally," they all groaned when he slid into the passenger seat, save from Darcy who just went,  
"Papa!", waving her hands at him until his older self reached back and tickled her tummy. All three boys started arguing about the music choice as soon as Stiles started the car, shouting out artists Derek had never heard of and he doubted even his future counterpart would've understood a word his children were saying.   
"That's it!" this Stiles yelled." If you don't agree on something then I am choosing the music and we all know that you don't want that!" Derek had always thought Stiles had quite good taste in music, not that he'd ever tell him that. Or at least, not yet anyway.

Alec pulled the oldest sibling card and leaned over to fiddle with some buttons, Stiles yelling at him the whole time and Derek rolling his eyes, watching their exchange through the eyes of his future self.  
"Deja vu," he heard himself mutter, his brow creasing.  
"Alec! For the love of God, don't do that in front of your siblings! You'll encourage them to try and kill themselves!"  
"Oh, dad, don't be ridiculous, I'm just picking my music!"   
"Which is shit," one of the twins muttered,  
"Cas! Language!" Stiles sent him a glare in his rearview mirror.  
"Pa, press the play button, can you?" Alec said. Derek did as he asked.

*****************************

Derek hadn't been sure what to expect when he'd first heard that they were going to Lydia's barbecue. He didn't recognise the large house which you'd only expect to see in magazines or films about rich people that they approached after only about fifteen minutes of driving, most of which was taken up by the incredibly long driveway leading up to the house - however the surroundings looked rather familiar. He did immediately recognise the smell though. A mix of strawberry, pinewood and determination. The smell of Lydia and Jackson.

Stiles had barely parked the car before he'd clambered out, up the front steps of the porch and burst into the house. The boys immediately followed suite, leaving older Derek to check that Stiles had parked properly and get Darcy out of her seatbelt, laughing at how much she was squirming to get out. After lifting her down from the car, his older self watched as she sped off after Stiles and her brothers with a broad, proud smile on his lips. 

Derek was frustrated by how slowly his older self made his way into the house, making sure to bring everything Stiles had brought for Lydia out of the car. He was greeted by Boyd and Isaac first, both looking much older, particularly Boyd, who was only a year younger than Derek.   
"Derek! How are you my friend?" Boyd grinned." Let me give you a hand with that - for our gorgeous hostess, no doubt?" Derek vaguely heard his older self reply, but could only focus on the fact that Boyd had spoken more than five words, willingly, without being prompted. This couldn't be real.

"Come on, let's get you a drink, everyone else is outside," Isaac said, jerking his head toward an entrance which Derek assumed led out towards the garden as Boyd grabbed the wine from older Derek's hands. Derek didn't listen to their conversation, instead trying to take in as much as he could about this house. It was stunning. Not a surprise though, considering Lydia's style and Jackson's access to money. 

They reached the garden and Derek literally gasped. From what he could see they had a good few acres of land surrounding their house, along with miles of woods. He now knew why he'd recognised the surroundings. They were in the middle of his territory. It seemed that Lydia and Jackson had built a house within the clearing that sat not too far away from the original Hale House. Was that where older Stiles and Derek lived? He hadn't had time to take in too many details from their home. 

"Uncle Derek!" He focused back on the people in front of his older self and blinked in surprise. Lydia looked as gorgeous as ever; her strawberry blonde hair had grown so long that the tips brushed the small of her back, her eyes bright without the weight of some sort of death foreshadowing, and she smelled happy. Really happy. Jackson stood by the barbecue, still looking like a model, but one that stepped out of a James Bond film rather than a fashion magazine, his teeth still shining as he grinned at something Allison had said.

Allison looked the most different. Her kind dark hair had been cut into a pixie-style bob and Derek was pretty sure he glimpsed a tattoo peeking out from beneath her shirt. Isaac actually had a scruff on his chin, much to Derek's amusement, and apparently his older self's as well, seeing as he grabbed his chin to inspect it and laughed when Isaac shoved him away. Boyd appeared beside him and Derek could suddenly only see blonde hair as Erica hugged older Derek. She pulled back and Derek was glad to see that she was smiling. He hadn't seen that in a while. She pulled her up into a messy bun as she spoke to his older self, complaining about how her boss had been slacking off and blaming her for all the work that piling up. 

When he caught sight of Scott, Derek actually felt like crying. He wasn't sure whether it was because he was dressed like a typical dad, which was hilarious, or because he was holding a baby boy with a delicacy in his eyes which was only usually reserved for Kira or Stiles when he was being a moron. Kira was standing beside him, fussing over a milk bottle whose lid refused to stay on. She looked tired, but the lines around her eyes seemed to be more from laughter than stress. 

"Uncle Derek!" His observations were suddenly cut short by his older self picking up a strawberry blonde haired little girl who couldn't have been more than four years old.   
"Hey, Mia," older Derek grinned," how are you sweetheart?"  
"Daddy got me a new pony!"   
"Oh did he now?" She nodded her head excitedly, opening her hand to show him a delicate little pony doll. Derek heard his older self mentally sigh in relief.

Having realised that his pack mates also had children, Derek looked around to try and catch a look at the rest of them. He later learned that Lydia and Jackson also had a son called Alfie who looked like he was the same age as Alec, as well as a dog who looked identical to Prada, called Prince. Isaac and Allison had two girls, one called Iris who looked about thirteen and the other called Jade who was eight (nearly nine - her birthday was next week and wouldn't stop going on about it). Scott and Kira's baby boy was named Mateo and they also had a teenage girl called Adelaide who liked to be known as Ada. Allison had been teaching her how to use a bow and Scott was complaining about having to set up multiple targets throughout the woods and their garden so she could test herself.

Erica and Boyd also had children, much to Derek's surprise. He hadn't thought that Erica had ever wanted children. But they were gorgeous. Quinn was their eldest, a tall girl of about fifteen with slightly tan skin and blonde hair. Boyd proudly announced to the adults that she wanted to be a doctor or a vet and was constantly either with Deaton at his surgery or Mrs. McCall at the hospital. Derek wasn't surprised to hear that Melissa was still working, even though she must be in her fifties now. Probably ran the place, knowing her.

Dante was Erica's next child and it was clear that Boyd was just as infatuated with their son who was only about ten, with slightly darker skin than Quinn, and dark curly hair. Their last child, a little girl with the same skin colour as Dante and Quinn's hair, was called Talia. Derek felt like sobbing with happiness and he could feel his older Derek's affection for the girl. 

As the morning turned into the afternoon and then into the evening, Derek watched with fondness at how much happier they all seemed. This was what he had to look forward to in his future. A family. His friends, his pack, still alive and still together. Stiles was his husband, his mate. What more could he want? And he did want it. Desperately. He promised himself that he'd do anything in his power to make this future happen, no matter the cost, because his pack would finally be happy and have the life they deserve. With him.

He continued to admire and watch what their lives would become over the next few days. He realised that he could feel and hear what his older self was feeling and thinking, chuckling at how often older Derek would mutter about having deja vu. 

He felt the secret pride when Alec had punched this kid at school for picking on a boy who had just come out as gay, the way older Derek was trying to keep a straight face and tell his son off while Stiles was whooping in the background. 

He felt the flare of anger when his older self argued with older Stiles, and then the sadness afterwards when his Stiles ignored him for the rest of the day. 

He shared the love older Derek felt for Stiles and the overwhelming happiness when he forgave him and felt both awkward and completely over the moon when they had make-up sex (making sure the kids were at Scott's so they could be as loud as they wanted). 

He was getting so used to having Stiles and four little faces who were a strange mix of both of them around that he thought he'd died when everything suddenly went black.

************************************

Derek jerked awake, immediately sitting up and then lying back down again in order to stop his head spinning. 

"Derek!" The voice was immediately recognisable and for a split second he thought he was still in his future self's head. However, he quickly gathered that he was in his own time as he was able to slowly sit up on his own accord and stare into those whiskey-coloured eyes. Stiles starts bombarding him with questions as soon as he realised Derek was really awake.

"Are you okay?! What's the last thing I remember? Do you remember your name? What year is it? Do you need some water? Do you know what happened to you? Shall I get Deaton? Do you know who I am? Should I-!"  
Derek cut off Stiles' endless stream of words with a firm kiss, taking the boy completely by surprise. Well that took care of two birds with one stone. He'd always wanted to shut Stiles up effectively. It just so happened that the perfect method was also one of Derek's deepest desires. 

Stiles was so shocked that he didn't respond and Derek would've been worried if he hadn't smelled the burst of happiness radiating from the boy.  
"I've always wanted to do that," Derek whispered when he'd pulled away all too soon for either of their liking, but kept his face so close to Stiles' that his breath tickled the boy's nose.  
"Wha-I mean, what-what's happen-am I dreaming right now?" Stiles breathed, absentmindedly grasping onto Derek's collar, finding that he needed the contact. 

Derek didn't reply, trying to decide whether or not to tell Stiles of the fact that he'd glimpsed a future where they shared the same bed, had four kids and where Stiles was a werewolf. Derek didn't really understand how it would be possible, all he knew was that he wanted to. Gazing at this boy, the younger, more worried version of the husband of Derek's own future self, all Derek wanted to do was to make him happy. To make him family. To make him understand that he was the love of his life.

"Stiles, will you do me the pleasure of going on a date with me?" The boy's wide eyes widened impossibly further and then he laughed nervously.   
"I think we should get you looked at because something is clearly not right with your head." He was trying to force himself to make jokes in a feeble attempt to hide the fact that he knew Derek had heard his heart leap at the question.

"What? I'm not crazy, Stiles. I've just been forced to realise that forcing down my desires isn't going to help anyone. I know that now. So I'm not going to stop myself from at least trying to get you to realise how much I like you," Derek told him, crossing his arms stubbornly as Stiles got up to leave the room. The boy paused in the doorway, turning to throw Derek a small smile.  
"Let's get you checked out first. Just in case."   
Derek took that as a sign that Stiles at least cared for him.

*

Derek could smell that the pack were all downstairs and his ears fondly picked on the sounds of their excited chatter once they knew he was awake. He also knew that Melissa was there and Stiles was bringing her upstairs to check up on him. He greeted her as she entered and she smiled.  
"Well from first glances you're looking pretty good, Mr. Hale."  
"That's what I told him," Derek replied, raising an eyebrow at Stiles who rolled his eyes.  
"Yes, but a week ago you weren't kissing me, so I think that calls for a closer look!"   
Melissa raised her eyebrows at Derek but the alpha just shrugged.  
"Being in a coma makes you realise that life is short, okay? And that maybe chasing after something you've wanted for a while won't always end in a disaster."

The two humans stared at him for a long moment before Melissa shrugged and shoved Stiles out of the room. Derek growled in protest but the nurse only rolled her eyes,  
"Oh, stop your growling, Derek, I just need you not to be so distracted while I check you, okay?"  
"Fine," he grumbled.  
"I'm just going to ask you some questions to check that you're not suffering any memory loss okay?"  
"Okay."

Melissa paused for a moment, her eyes softening as she thought of something.  
"He hasn't left your side the entire time," she murmured. Derek perked up.  
"Who? Stiles?" She nodded,  
"He refused to leave the room from the moment you got here,"   
"What about food?! And water?! You can't tell me-,"  
"No, he's still been eating and drinking, he just never got it for himself. I made sure the rest of them went to school, but Stiles stayed firm. He said that he wanted to be here when you woke up. He was worried you'd freak out and do something stupid."  
"What was he going to do if I had freaked out?"  
"He said that there was something telling him that you'd never hurt him. He just knew that he had to be the one that was there when you woke up."  
Derek snorted, "I'm an alpha."  
Melissa smirked,  
"An alpha who's in love with a human."

Derek smiled, much to Melissa's surprise. Stiles had gone bright red when she'd suggested it to him and spluttered about how that would be impossible. Which it clearly wasn't.

"Anyway, Mr. Hale. Let's get on with this."

*

The questions lasted about twenty minutes, after which Melissa informed Stiles and the rest of the pack that Derek was perfectly fine and not suffering any damage from what she could see. 

The boy bounded up the stairs and into Derek's room, where they'd decided to put him when they'd ruled out the hospital. As soon as he entered the room, he took up his place next to Derek's bed and grinned.  
"So you've got no brain damage," he stated.  
"As I knew already," Derek responded,  
"Which means that you knew exactly what you were doing when you woke up," the boy continued. Derek smirked and leaned closer to him so that his mouth was by Stiles' ear.   
"Let's just say I was dreaming about you."

Derek had never seen Stiles go so pink so quickly.

*******************************

The future he'd glimpsed turned out to be perfectly correct. 

Allison had cut her hair and got a tattoo of her family emblem over her heart when her father died whilst hunting a rogue werewolf. Lydia had had her hair cut whilst being tortured by a vampire who had thought she'd be able to predict the death of his brother, after which she vowed never to cut it ever again.

One of Derek's favourite memories was when Stiles had asked Derek to turn him into a werewolf when he'd discovered that if mated to another male, the more submissive of the two male werewolves would naturally develop a females uterus and ovaries in order to have naturally born children. Derek had actually wept.

He'd also cried when he married Stiles, watching his mate walk down the aisle. And again when Erica and Boyd asked him to be Talia's godfather. Getting older was making his surprisingly emotional. 

And when 07/08/2036 came around, with that almost constant sense of deja vu, he smiled and knew that now the future was really unknown. He couldn't wait to find out what happened next.


End file.
